Interior-conduit outlet-box.



No. 696,7"). Patentad Apr. I, I902. W. F. BUSSERT.

INTERIOR counun OUTLET BOX.

(Application filed Jan. 17. 1902.]

(No Model.)

11V VE/V TOR.

WITNESSES v A N II ILLIAM F. BOSSERT, OF UTIOA, NEIV YORK, ASSIGNOR TOTHE BOSSERT ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, OF UTICA, NEW YORK.

lNTERIOR -CONDUIT OUTLET=-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Fatent No. 696,710, dated April 1,1902.

Original application filed $eptemher 16, 901, Serial No. 75,654:-,Dividecl and this application filed January 17, 1902. Serial No.90,145. (No model.)

T coZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. Bossnnr,

residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, haveinvented certain Improvem cuts in Interior-Conduit Outlet-Boxes,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of ductile-metal outlet-boxesemployed in systems of interior conduits for buildings, which to arestruck up or drawn out by aseries of progr'essive operations by means ofdies. In the manufacture of such articles to meet the coinpetition ofbusiness a superior box has to be made, the operations necessary to itsconstruc- 'r 5 tion have to be reduced to the lowest limit, and improvedmeans are required in order to produce the final results with the leastamount of waste of material and cost of labor.

In the present invention a flat piece of thin o ductile metal is drawninto a shape having sidewalls, with a rim extending around the the sameat right angles, and a bottom. By other operations it is further pressedand the main portions of the rim trimmed off, leaving small extensionsto serve as locking-ears for the cover. By another operation the boxformis forced through a special die, by which the said ears are supportedand protected at right angles to the walls of the box, while the goupper edges of the box are drawn upward higher than the upper face ofthe said ears into somewhat ragged edges. Subsequently the box is passedunder a grinding-machine, and the said drawn-up ragged edges are 3 5ground off smooth and even with the said upper surfaces of the ears. Thebox-form is then forced through another die in such manner as to drawthe said ears upward into the same plane with the walls of which theyform a part, and by another operation the ears are perforated for thereception of cotter-pins.

In case the boxes are to be perforated or partially perforated for theadmission of conduit-pipes the last operation effects this result. Bymeans of this process I am enabled to produce a superior outlet-box in avery expeditious manner without breakages or waste material. Usuallythere has been a loss in a part of the successive operations, owing tothe diificulty in preventing the ears referred to from being broken offand the box abandoned or rendered inferior during the operation ofsurfacing the box edges and final operations; but by the process nowdescribed the ears are preserved and the waste reduced to a minimum; andthe invention therefore relates to the outlet-box made by thewithindescribed process.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the invention, Figures 1 and2 are respec- 6o tively face and edge views of the blank from which thebox is formed. Figs. 3 and A are top and side views of the partly-formedbox.- Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional and plan views of forming-dies, with apartly-formed box between them. Figs. 7 and 8 are respectivelycross-sections on lines 3 y and z a of Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of two dies to illustrate the bending of thebox-ears. -Figs. 10 and 11 are a plan and a sectional side view,respectively, of a completed box. Figs. 12, 13, 14:, 15, and 16 areviews to illustrate the formation of a cover for the box, and Figs.

17 and 18 are a plan and a side view of a box with its cover locked on.

In the drawings, a represents a piece of thin sheet ductile metal of theshape for drawing up into a box. It is placed across a lower die, and anupper die forces it into the lower die and produces a form A, such as isshown in Figs. 3 and 4, having four walls I), a bottom 6, and a flange cat right angles to the walls, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Theform A by another operation may have the walls drawn out to make itdeeper and. have the rim trimmed off close to the walls, leaving,however, portions to form two or more ears cl. It is not necessary torefer to all of the minoroperations, some of which may be partialduplicates of one another, as it will be understood by those familiarwith the art that it may be better to effect one result in an article bytwo operations than to perform the whole by one operation, as a secondoperation may carry a detail with it that could 5 not be performed bythe first. At a certain point in the manipulation it becomes necessaryto make the edges of the box-form A square and smooth in order that thebox cover may fit on tightly, as the edges are at me this stage uneven.'As a preliminary to this operation the form A is forced through a die,as shown in Figs. 5 and (S, in order that the edges 19 maybe drawn outabove the face tween dies and said portions are displaced a or uppersurface of the ears d, as ordinarily there is not sufiicient stock abovethe said face to finish evenly and smoothly all the way around; but inorder to effect this means have to be provided to protect the ears frominjury.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the lower die 0, whose area f is slightlysmaller than the boxform A to be forced therethrough, and on twoopposite sides portions d are cut through the die in the shape of theears. The upper die B is made to fit into the upper part of the box-formand has projections 25 t on two opposite sides, which fit into thepassages 01 of the lower die. The box-form is to be placed between thedies so that the ears (1 are over the passages d and as the upper die Bdc.- scends the projections 25 bear upon the ears d and protect them,while the walls of the form are drawn up into edges resembling p inFigs. 7 and 8, so that there is suificient stock above the uppersurfaces of the ears cl. The box-form A is then brought to a grindingmachine, and the rough irregular contour edges are ground off smooth andeven with the upper surfaces of the ears. Subsequently the ears areturned up so to be in a plane with the walls of the box, and this isdone as shown by Fig. 9, in which the upper die D fits into the lowerdie E. The box-form Ais placed in position, as shown in full lines, andas the die reaches the position shown in dotted lines e and e the ears(I, which are at right angles to the walls I), are drawn up into theposition (Z and d and as the die D carries box-form through the lowerdie the ears are brought up straight, and when the boxform emerges fromthe dies the ears are smooth and shapely. Perforations g are made in theears, preferably by punches, and the two cars of one side can be punchedat the same time.

If the walls or bottom of the boxes are to be weakened in circularlines, so that portions may be easily displaced when desired tointroduce into the box the end of a conduit, such walls and bottom areplaced bedistance less than the thickness of the Walls, after the'mannershown and claimed in Patent No. 682,233, granted to me September 10,

' 1901, the same being indicated by the dottedline circles in Figs. 10and 11.

To form a cover for such a box as has been hereinbefore described, apiece of thin sheet ductile metal G is cut into the same shape, havingthe rounded extensions h, then pressed into the form shown by Figs. 13,14, and finally a round hole on is out through the center of the shapeand the slots 7.: are punched through opposite the extensions h.

Figs. 17 and 18 show the completed cover G upon the box A, the slots7c'fitting over the upright ears (1 and with spring or cotter pins .9through the perforations g to hold the cover in place.

By this construction all screws and threaded holes are avoided and asimple economical box produced.

It will be understood that while I have illustrated the process inconnection with a fourwalled box that the same process can be applied tothe formation of a round or any other shaped box.

The hereinbefore-described process is not claimedin this application, asthe same forms the subject-matter of my application, Serial No. 75,654,filed September 16, 1901, of which this application is a division,

I claim as my invention 1. An outlet-box cover comprising a flat platehaving a central opening with an upturned flange, and a plurality ofparallel slots near theedge of the plate.

2. An outlet-box having its walls substantially at right angles to itsbottom and provided with two or more perforated ears extending in thesame plane as the said walls; with a bodily-removable cover having slotsto receive the said ears secured to the box by pins.

An outlet-box having its walls substan tially at right angles to itsbottom and provided with two or more perforated ears extending in thesame plane as the said walls; with a bodily-removable cover having slotsto receive the said ears and an opening in its central part, secured tothe box by cotterpins.

4. An outlet-box struck or drawn up from a single piece of ductilemetal, provided with two or more integral cars extending in the sameplane as the walls thereof the ears having perforations, as set forth.

5. An outlet-box struck or drawn up from a single piece of ductilemetal, provided with two or more integral ears extending in the sameplane as the walls thereof, the edges of the walls being ground oifsmooth, as set forth.

6. The combination of an outlet-box struck or drawn up from a singlepiece of ductile metal, provided with two or more integral earsextending in the same plane as the walls thereof, the edges of the wallsbeing ground off smooth, and the ears having perforations; a cover madefrom a. single piece of metal having slots adapted to fit over the earsof the box; with spring or cotter pins for the perforations of the ears,as set forth.

'7. An outlet-box struck or drawn up from a single piece of ductilemetal, provided with two or more integral ears extending in the sameplane as the walls thereof, the edges of the walls level or ground offas described, and the ears perforated.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this .1 4th dayof January, 1902.

\VILLIAM F. BOSSERT.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK T. FORINBERGER, LOUIS S. MILLER.

